Some new candidates who sailed through the recently held New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) parliamentary primaries have discounted claims of vote-buying said to have characterized the polls.
During last Saturday’s primaries by the NPP, Citi News reported of an incident where police at the Otaten polling station in the Ablekuma North constituency in the Greater Accra Region stopped some supporters of aspirants contesting in the election from giving out envelopes believed to contain money to delegates.
Some delegates at Okaikoi South also mentioned in a Citi News interview that they had received monies and household items from some of the aspirants.
But some of the candidates who appeared on Citi TV’s Point of View show with Bernard Avle maintained that such acts are just a mere show of gratitude to delegates for their commitment and support.
“What was spent most was our time and energy other than the money. People spend so much money but it wasn’t about the money. To be honest, If it was about the money, I do not think I would have won. I didn’t sort delegates out. It’s all about politics and the dynamics are different. Some people gave things out, others did not but it is good to show appreciation to delegates but I won’t say I gave delegates a cedi or two because it is not really about that,” parliamentary candidate-elect for the Okaikoi South Constituency, Dakoa Newman intimated.
For Mpraeso parliamentary candidate-elect, Davis Opoku Ansah, he does not even have the wherewithal to pay delegates to vote out the incumbent Member of Parliament although he admits financial resources are needed to ensure a successful bid.
“Certainly, you have vehicles moving around, you have people visiting you to listen to your message so you have to pay for their transport. So you will spend some good money. I have always held an opinion that to win an election, you need a very good message, strong machinery on the ground and then money. Everybody spends money but the fact is that money alone doesn’t win elections. I am not too sure money won me this election because I do not have the resources to outplay a sitting Member of Parliament. I won by a quite margin”, he intimated.
Vote-buying, violence at NPP primaries ‘unprecedented’ – Sammy Gyamfi
Communications Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has said his party is shocked at the height of violence and vote-buying that characterized the recently held parliamentary primaries of the governing New Patriotic Party.
He said while such activities have been witnessed during the primaries of other political parties, the scenes from the NPP’s primaries of vote-buying were “unprecedented.”
“Our concern and I believe concern of many well-meaning Ghanaians, has to do with the alarming levels of opulence and ostentation, vote-buying and showboating that we saw, coupled with the alarming level of violence which in our view is unprecedented,” he said on Monday.
Sammy Gyamfi said the NDC was surprised at the turn of events and believes that it is proof of high levels of corruption within the Akufo-Addo government.
We’ll investigate vote-buying allegations
However, the National Organiser of the NPP, Sammy Awuku says the party will investigate the allegations of vote-buying during its primaries.
Mr. Awuku told Citi News’ Umaru Sanda Amadu that although he did not witness any form of inducement at centres he monitored, the party is prepared to investigate the allegations.
“I heard allegations of inducement, bribing delegates, and all of that but let me be very honest with you as a practising Christian. I never saw one aspirant or group of aspirants doling out money or bribing delegates and I also never saw any delegate or group of delegates receiving money in that regard. I’m being very honest. It may have occurred on my blindside and maybe it was just a mere allegation. I am not saying it never happened but I never saw it as a person. But we are going to receive a report from the parliamentary elections committee and investigate it. We’ll investigate it. Let me be very clear that inducing a voter, inducing a delegate and trying to bribe his or her conscience to vote in a particular direction is inconsistent with the rules and regulations with the rules governing the parliamentary primaries’, he assured.
Meanwhile, the NPP in a statement said it was convinced that the election was conducted in a free and fair manner.